NBA Storylines: February’s strength of schedule rankings

February is the shortest month and also relatively light on NBA games (166 total), with the All-Star break in the middle. But it could still be consequential, both in regard to trades that are made in the next five days and movement in the standings.

In the Eastern Conference, only three games separate the second-place Knicks from the sixth-place Sixers. And in the West, only three games separate the second-place Nuggets from the seventh-place Suns.

So every game matters, and the ones played within those tiers in the East and West are especially important.

Here’s a schedule breakdown for February

Note: A rest-advantage game (or rest-disadvantage game) is one where one team played the day/night before, but the other (the team with the advantage) did not. Through Jan. 31, teams are 89-84 (.514) in rest-advantage games, 47-44 (.516) at home and 42-40 (.512) on the road.

February strength of schedule

Here’s a look at the February schedule for every team, sorted from the toughest (in regard to cumulative opponent winning percentage) to the easiest:

OppPCT = Cumulative opponent winning percentage (as of Dec. 3)B2B = Back-to-backs (includes Jan. 31-Feb. 1 back-to-backs for the Bulls, Heat and Spurs)H | R = Home games | Road games

Eastern Conference notes

Bam Adebayo and the Heat have 1 of the easier schedules in the East in February.

The Hawks have the East’s easiest February schedule, based on cumulative opponent winning percentage (.422). It includes four home games against the Jazz, Nets and Wizards, with the Hawks currently 9-3 against the nine teams that are at least 10 games under .500.

The Celtics have just two February games within the 2-8 tier in the East, and they’re consecutive home games (vs. Miami and New York) next week. They currently have the best record (11-4) among the seven teams below Detroit in the East.

The Nets were 0-8 in the second games of back-to-backs before getting a win in Utah on Friday. They have two back-to-backs in February, they’re both after the All-Star break, and the second games will be at Oklahoma City and at Boston.

The Hornets‘ easiest five-game stretch of the season is a stretch from Feb. 22 – March 3, where they’re playing the Wizards, Bulls, Pacers, Blazers and Mavs. After that, 14 of their final 20 games will come against teams that currently have winning records.

The Bulls enter the month with two games left on a stretch where they will have played six in eight days. Starting with their win in Miami on Saturday, six of their final seven games before the All-Star break are on the road, but they’ll come out of the break with their longest homestand of the season (seven games over 13 days).

The Cavs are tied (with the Sixers) for the most road-heavy February schedule, with only three of their 11 games in Cleveland and their loss in Phoenix on Friday being the start of a five-game trip out West. They’ll come out of the All-Star break with their third (and final) stretch of five games in seven days, which includes games against the Thunder and Knicks.

The Pistons have the East’s second-toughest February schedule regarding cumulative opponent winning percentage (.546), and it includes two big games against the Knicks (who have the East’s toughest month). The first (Friday in Detroit) will be a rest-disadvantage game.

The Pacers have faced the East’s toughest schedule to date (cumulative opponent winning percentage of .525), but will have the conference’s second-easiest February schedule. They’re currently three games into a stretch where they’re playing 14 of 19 against teams with losing records.

The Heat are the only East team with only three February games against teams that enter the month with winning records. They’re currently two games into a stretch where they’re playing 10 of 11 against teams currently below .500.

The Bucks will have some winnable games this coming week, a three-game homestand against the Bulls, Pelicans and Pacers. After that, they’ll play seven of their final eight February games against teams that enter the month with winning records. They’ve lost nine of their last 10 games against that group.

The Knicks have five February games within the top eight in the East, and four of the five are on the road. They’re currently 11-8 within the top eight, 8-3 at home or on a neutral court, and 3-5 on the road.

The Magic are three games into their toughest five-game stretch of the season, set to visit the Spurs and Thunder on Sunday and Tuesday. That will be immediately followed by their easiest five-game stretch of the season, games against the Nets, Jazz, Bucks (x 2) and Kings, with the first four coming before the All-Star break.

The Sixers are tied (with the Cavs) for the most road-heavy February schedule, with only three of their 11 games in Philadelphia. They’re the only team that hasn’t played in the Mountain or Pacific time zones, and they’ll begin a five-game trip with a rest-advantage game at the Intuit Dome on Monday.

The Raptors have a league-high five multi-day breaks in February, not including the All-Star break. Their five February games before the All-Star break are their third (and final) five-game homestand.

The Wizards open February with a game against the Kings, and they’ll then play their next 11 games within the Eastern Conference. Their first two games after the All-Star break will come (at home) against the 14th-place Pacers, who now have one more win than the Wizards do.

Western Conference notes

The Mavs‘ first six games of February are against teams that enter the month with winning records. Their last four games of the month are against teams currently below .500.

The Nuggets had one of the league’s easiest January schedules, but will have its toughest February schedule regarding cumulative opponent winning percentage (.589), even though four teams have more February games against teams currently over .500. Their month starts and ends with games against the Thunder and also includes games in Detroit and New York (their first meeting with the Knicks) next week. Those two games are the end of their second (and final) stretch of five games in seven days.

The Warriors are halfway through a stretch where they’re playing 11 of 14 against teams that enter February with winning records. They’re 11-14 within that group after their loss to the Pistons on Friday.

The Rockets have the league’s best record (13-2) in interconference games and are the only Western Conference team with more February games against the East (seven) than they have against the West (five). Five of their first seven post-break games are in Eastern Conference arenas.

The Clippers are one of two teams (the Thunder are the other) with a league-high 10 February games against teams that enter the month with winning records. They were 1-15 against that group through mid-December, but have won seven of 10 against winning teams as they’ve gone 16-4 overall (best in the league) since Dec. 20.

The Lakers have the league’s toughest February schedule in regard to opposing defenses, with only two of their 12 games against teams that enter the month in the bottom 10 defensively. And of those is against the Clippers (21st), who have had a top-10 defense over their 16-4 stretch.

The Grizzlies‘ longest road trip of the season (five games over eight days) is their last five games before the All-Star break, and it includes a back-to-back in Portland.

The Wolves have a league-low two games against teams that enter February with winning records. They don’t have a single February game against a team that enters the month in the top 10 offensively.

The Pelicans have the West’s second-easiest schedule in regard to cumulative opponent winning percentage, with five games against the Bucks (x 2), Kings and Jazz (x 2).

The Thunder have the league’s second-toughest February schedule in regard to cumulative opponent winning percentage, with 10 of their 12 games against teams that enter the month with winning records. They won their first seven games within that group, but are 6-8 since the NBA Cup semifinals (Dec. 13).

The Suns have a relatively tough slate, but it’s the league’s most home-heavy February schedule, with nine of their 11 games in Phoenix. They’re four games into a stretch (that extends into March) where they’re playing 16 of 19 at home.

The Blazers‘ first five games of February are tied for their longest homestand of the season, but their last five games before the All-Star break are their second (and final) stretch of five games in seven days.

The Kings are finally getting some schedule relief. They’ve played the league’s toughest schedule (cumulative winning percentage of .558) through January, but will play just six of their next 19 games against teams with winning records.

For the second straight year, the Spurs‘ rodeo trip doesn’t extend past the All-Star break, though they’ll play their first two post-break games in Austin. They have a league-high four back-to-backs in February, and the second games of all four will be rest-disadvantage games.

The Jazz have the league’s easiest February schedule, based on cumulative opponent winning percentage (.417). That includes four games (three of them at home) within the bottom four in the West.

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John Schuhmann has covered the NBA for more than 20 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Bluesky.